


Garroway Gathering

by ceciwrites



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Dancing, First Meetings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-29
Updated: 2017-03-29
Packaged: 2018-10-12 18:04:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10496559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceciwrites/pseuds/ceciwrites
Summary: When Alec went with his siblings to attend a traditional Scottish party at the local bar, he had expected fiddles and special brew. What he hadn't expected was ending up dancing with a handsome stranger and having the time of his life.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theloverneverleaves](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theloverneverleaves/gifts).



> Happy belated birthday dearest [Ali](http://isabellebiwoods.tumblr.com/)!!!!!!! 
> 
> I had to do some research for this one and I hope I did it justice.   
> (and if not, then remember that Alec has even less of a clue about what's going on than I do)
> 
> Thanks to the lovely [Edin](http://achilleanragnor.tumblr.com/) for beta'ing this for me!

"Garroway Gathering: an (almost) authentic cèilidh with 100% authentic Scottish live music"  
  
The poster that was hung outside of what looked like a fairly small bar made Alec roll his eyes. Almost authentic. As if being subjected to hours of fiddle music wasn’t bad enough, and then it wasn't even the real deal. At least he had been promised that there would be a selection of traditional Gaelic beer, which he at least somewhat looked forward to.  
  
Izzy went inside; Alec and Jace following just behind her. They were met with a low buzz, signalling that the place was far from empty even this early in the evening. When they got further into the room, it was clear that what was usually the main room of the bar only served as an entrance during the night's event. The double doors at back of the bar had been opened, and the huge back room now served as a dance floor.  
  
There was a small stage at the far end of the dance floor, and it looked like the band was currently in the middle of getting everything ready. Along the edge of the dance floor a couple dozen of round tables were set up--more than half of them already occupied.  
  
They quickly agreed that Izzy and Jace would go get them all a table, while Alec went to fetch them something to drink. Despite the place being somewhat crowded, the line at the bar was surprisingly short.  
  
Less than five minutes after they had split up, Alec found his siblings at a table about halfway towards the stage. As he approached them, he vaguely heard Izzy saying something about dancing, gesturing towards the still empty space in the middle of the room. Not being much of a dancer himself, Alec found himself zoning out for a few minutes while taking in their surroundings and sipping at his beer.  
  
It turned out that they had picked the right time to arrive, because only a few minutes later a tall handsome man took the stage, tapping lightly at the microphone to gain the attention of the people in the room.  
  
"Hi everyone," he said, "my name is Luke." At that a cheer erupted, someone even whistling at the mention of his name. "As some of you may already know I'm neither Scottish nor Irish." Laughter was heard across the room as Luke flashed them a blinding smile before continuing. "Which is why I have acquired a little help this evening." With that he took a step to the side, drawing attention to the band who were currently finding their places.  
  
"This is Kirsty." A short woman waved at the crowd. "She's a good friend of mine and _she_ is Scottish and so is her husband," a man with a flute like instrument in his hand bowed his head in, "and they, along with the rest of the _Duncan Jigs_ , has promised to help make this the most authentic Cèilidh you can possible have in the back room of a dusty old bar." Even more laughter was heard and Alec himself couldn't help but smile at the guy's little welcoming speech.  
  
After introducing the band, Luke quickly went over the night's programme, promising both dancing, fun and something about a dance caller, which Alec didn't quite catch, later in the evening. As he left the stage, the band started playing and you could almost feel the excitement that spread through the room.  
  
About half an hour later, another woman was introduced. She was apparently the dance caller Luke had mentioned, and her job was apparently to instruct the participating dancers throughout the evening. A good number of people quickly found their way to the dance floor, and while Alec had thought that the festivities had really begun when the band had started playing, it was nothing compared to this.  
  
The atmosphere of the room was incredible. The music and the sound of dancing feet on the floor was mixed with laughter and the occasional clapping between dances. It was no surprise that Izzy, after no more than three dances, turned to her brothers with a huge smile, eyes sparkling.  
  
“This is so much fun!” she exclaimed, glee evident in her voice. Alec smiled at her even though he was pretty sure he knew what she was going to say next. “Please come dance with me.” Jace sank a bit in his seat, clearly signalling that he couldn’t be convinced.  
  
She turned to Alec, well knowing that he couldn’t resist her charm. “Please, Alec! We didn’t come her to just sit in a corner for the entire evening… Just one dance I promise.” He really wasn’t much of a dancer but the look of sheer happiness that spread across his sister’s face as he agreed was more than worth it. The next time the music stopped, Izzy was on her feet, dragging Alec closely behind her until they were stood in the middle of the dance floor.  
  
Given the fact that the event was filled with people who had never tried these traditional dances before, they went through the whole thing several times without music, and Alec was confident that he wouldn’t screw up too badly.  
  
The steps weren’t too difficult. Just some toe taps, a few skips to either side, a couple of claps and around with your partner, before moving on to the next person in the ring of dancers and repeating the steps with them. Easy enough, or so Alec thought. Reality was another thing, and the song – and therefore also the dance - definitely went faster than Alec had anticipated.  
  
He and Izzy stumbled through the first round, stopping a few times before getting into the rhythm again. And he might have tapped his heels instead of his toes, making the young girl his was dancing in that round laugh out loud. He might have taken too large steps two rounds later, when he was paired with a very short elderly woman, making it difficult for her to keep up.  
  
Hell, he might have missed the claps in more than half of the rounds, but after maybe seven or eight rounds he was having so much fun, laughing every other step, that he simply couldn’t care less. Izzy had been right. This _was_ fun. He was having fun, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had been feeling this way.  
  
He was absolutely sure the night couldn’t get any better, but just as the caller announced that this would be the last round of this particular dance, he was faced with his next partner. It was quite possible the most attractive man Alec had ever laid his eyes on. He almost stumbled over his own feet on his way to greet him.  
  
During the dance, Alec didn’t have much of a change to take everything in but the strong grip with which he held onto Alec, and the dark brown eyes framed with dark kohl and a touch of glitter that never left Alec’s during the entire round, made it feel like his knees were about the buckle under him.  
  
When the dance was finally over, they were both a little out of breath, clapping along with everyone else. Neither of them seemed to be able to stop the wide smiles that spread across their faces as they kept their eyes trained on each other.  
  
Too distracted by how the other man’s goatee framed his mouth and the way the dark purple button up fit his broad shoulders, Alec found himself unable to string a coherent sentence together. Luckily, the other man seemed to be a little less out of it.  
  
“Hi, I’m Magnus.” He held his hand out in greeting, and if Alec held onto it for a bit longer than strictly necessary, he fully blamed his brain (which he was pretty sure had short circuited at some point after his eyes had met Magnus’ only a couple of minutes earlier).  
  
“Alec.” Not wanting to let the handsome stranger slip away just yet, he racked his brain for something to say that wouldn’t make him look like a fool. It took a few moments, and it didn’t help that Magnus was still staring at him, but in the end, he managed to find _something_. “You’re a great dancer.”  
  
It wasn’t his best line to date, but Magnus laughed heartily at the comment, and it was one of the prettiest sounds Alec had ever heard, so who really cared.  
  
“Thank you, I’ve had a lot of practice.” At that Alec raised his eyebrows, a silent _oh_ on his lips. “I’m friends with Luke and I sorta know the band through him,” he explained with a shrug. “They have Céilidhs at their own establishment once or twice a month and I’m not one to turn down an opportunity to have a little fun.”  
  
They talked for a few minutes, drifting towards the edge of the dance floor as the instructions for the next dance began. It turned out that Magnus was as charming and as witty as he was attractive, and even though this made it a bit more difficult to get the right words out in the right order, Alec was enjoying every second they spent together a whole lot.  
  
“Do you wanna get a drink?” Magnus nodded his head towards the doors leading to the main room of the bar. Alec simply nodded and followed Magnus out of the room, glad that Magnus couldn’t see him openly enjoying the way the other man’s waistcoat sat across his muscular back.  
  
A little while later they found Izzy and Jace back at their table. They didn’t seem to have missed him too much, however, as they were engaged in conversation with a small redheaded girl and a guy with ruffled hair and glasses askew, both of whom Magnus seemed to know quite well.  
  
When Alec once again found himself on the dance floor, later in the evening, he was accompanied by Magnus. And as he watched Magnus trying to teach him some of the more complicated steps, a warm feeling spreading through his entire body, both of their smiles as big as when they had finished their first dance, he could help but think that agreeing to tag along with his tonight was the best decision he had made in a very long time.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys liked this! Please come talk to me on [my Tumblr](http://softdaddario.tumblr.com)


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